Pattern Making

What is Pattern Making?

Pattern making enables you to translate your designs from a single prototype into one (or many millions) of final products. It's a critical input into the manufacturing process for your designs. Click on any lesson picture, below, to learn more!Note: You'll learn the most from these lessons by doing exactly what the teachers are doing, using your own materials.

Beginner

We recommend watching the lessons, below, in the order shown. To begin, start by learning how to draft a collection of slopers or blocks. These slopers will become the foundation for all of your future designs. In our “Drafting a Shoulder Dart Bodice from Measurements” lesson, you will be able to draft a bodice from actual body measurements or from those of your dress form. Be sure to download our easy-to-follow Women’s Measuring Points Diagram and Women’s Measuring Points Chart to assist you in the process. Another alternative is to use our Women’s Basic Bodice sloper files (free download to subscribers) or your own draped shoulder dart bodice sloper. When you have finished drafting your bodice sloper, you will be able to advance to our dart-pivoting series of lessons where you will learn how to transfer darts to other areas of a bodice and draft a series of different necklines. To complete your set of foundational slopers, move to our lessons on how to draft a Straight Sleeve Sloper, a Basic Pant Sloper, a Straight Skirt sloper and our lesson on how to convert a Bodice Sloper to a Fitted Torso Sloper. You will have now the beginnings of a valuable sloper library. Know how to use the most common pattern making tools and understand common patternmaking terminology, such as “squaring off”, “trueing”, “blending lines” and the “slash & spread” method. Once you get to, and complete, a few Beginner sleeves and collars in this section, you’ll be ready for our Intermediate and Advanced pattern making lessons.

Intermediate

These Intermediate videos will teach you how to draft patterns from body measurements and how to complete more complex lessons, such as Drafting a Side Bust Dart Bodice Sloper from Measurements, a Raglan and Kimono Sleeve sloper and how to draft a legging and panty. In addition, you will be introduced to pattern grading techniques so that you can size your patterns larger or smaller. Our knit sloper series will provide you with a complete library of ‘cut & sew’ knit slopers. Then you are ready to move to our advanced lesson on Drafting a women’s jacket.